E3S Web of Conferences 76, 03003 (2019) https://doi.org/10.

1051/e3sconf/20197603003
ICST 2018

Gravity satellite data analysis for subsurface modelling

in Mount Merapi-Merbabu, Java, Indonesia
Puspita Dian Maghfira1,* and Sintia Windhi Niasari1
1 Geophysics Sub-Departement Laboratorium, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract. Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu are active volcanoes that lies in Java Island. Java island is
part of Indonesia region. This island was subduction product of Eurasian and Indo-Australian plates, caused
the island consist of many volcanoes. A regional gravity study was carried out over Mt. Merapi-Merbabu by
TOPEX/Poseidon satellite data. The data was corrected by free air correction and become free air anomaly.
Then, that anomaly was corrected by Bouguer and Terrain corrections, become Complete-Bouguer
Anomaly. This study present subsurface density model beneath Mt. Merapi and Merbabu to identify the
magma chamber.

1 Introduction
Java island lies within the Indonesian archipelago that
was subduction product of Eurasian and Indo-Australian
plates [1]. The southeastern part of this plates called
Sundaland [2]. Because of subduction process, there are
many volcanic in Sundaland, so Sundaland is known as
volcanic island. Subduction is still active all around
southeast Asian archipelago [3]. Subduction activity has
been an important influence on geological history [4].
This research aims to identify subsurface structure of
the Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu’s magma
chamber using gravity method. Gravity method carried
out measuring and comparing gravity values at several
stations, with various corrections applied to the data [5].
In addition to Earth Tides, latitude, free-air and Bouguer
corrections, one must determine the local effect of the
surrounding topography on the gravity field. Gravity
method can be divided into two measurements i.e., field
measurement and satellite measurement. In this research,
we used gravity satellite data to identify geological
structure, especially magma chamber location of Merapi
and Merbabu volcanoes.
Fig. 1. Physigraphy map of Java by Van Bammelen (1949),
black box shows location of the research area
2 Gravity data
Gravity method is one of geophysical methods that can
be use in many explorations. The gravity method
involves measuring the earth’s gravitational field at
specific locations on the earth’s surface to determine the
location of subsurface density variations [9]. The earth’s
gravitational field measured at the earth’s surface is
affected also by topographic changes, the earth’s shape
and rotation, and earth tides. Gravity data measurements
divided into two methods, i.e. field measurement and
satellite measurement. For this study, we used satellite
data measurement.
The area of this study is 88 km2 that located in
Central Java and Yogyakarta Provinces (Figure 1). This
area covering Mount Merapi, Merbabu, and Ungaran in
Java. The total number of gravity station was up to 2700.
The data were downloaded at February 23rd, 2018 from
Topex Satellite’s website (http://topex.ucsd.edu/cgi-
bin/get_data.cgi) [6].
Topex is a Geodesy satellite launched by NASA. A
satellite altimeter uses a pulse-limited radar to measure
the altitude of the satellite above the closest sea surface
point to a very high precision [7]. There are two type of
the data obtained from topex, i.e. topographic data and
gravity field data. The distance of each measurement
point is 1.8 km. These gravity data are already Free Air
Anomaly. And then, the topographic data were used for
terrain correction.
Gravity data that collected from Topex/Poseidon
satellite are already free air anomaly. Free Air Anomaly
is the measured gravity anomaly after a free air
correction is applied to correct for the elevation at which
a measurement is made. The free air gravity anomaly has
been corrected for the gravity effect caused by the
elevation difference between the station and sea level (a

*
Corresponding author: puspitadianm@gmail.com
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
E3S Web of Conferences 76, 03003 (2019)
ICST 2018
correction for distance) and is a standard for oceanic
gravity interpretation [5].
Figure 2 shows Free Air Anomaly map in the
research area. From the map we can see that high
anomaly located in Merapi and Merbabu volcanoes
showed gravity value about 115-175 mGal. The value of
free air anomaly is become lower in eastern and southern
of research area. High anomaly in Merapi-Merbabu
volcanoes indicate high density in the subsurface.
The Bouguer gravity anomaly has been further
corrected for the mass that may exist between sea level
and the observer (a correction for mass) and is a standard
used in geologic interpretation on land. A Complete-
Bouguer anomaly (CBA) contains a terrain correction
that uses a more complete representation of the local
topography, which is necessary for accurate gravity
values in mountainous areas [8].
Figure 3 shows Complete Bouguer Anomaly map.
From this map, the value of gravity field about -300
mGal to 300 mGal. The high anomaly located in Mount
Merapi and Merbabu, then low anomaly located in the
eastern part of study area. The area that has high
anomaly is also indicate high density of that area. The
result is suitable with the other study that Mount Merapi-
Merapi body has high density than the other rocks
around it.
Fig. 2. Free Air Anomaly Map in study area, shows that high
anomaly located in Mount Merapi-Merbabu (Google Maps,
2018). The High anomaly indicates high density in that area
than the other rocks around Mt.Merapi and Mt.Merbabu.
3 2-D Modelling
The new approach of two-dimensional (2D) gravity
modelling to separate observed anomalies into a series of
spatial components associated with different “depth
slices” of density [8]. 2-D gravity modelling run by
Geosoft software. The model was made by matching
data between field data and model data and then
combined with regional geological data. The profile lies
along Merapi and Merbabu volcanoes. Subsurface
Modelling shows five layers below Mount Merapi-
Merbabu.
The top layer is pyroclastic rocks, product of Mount
Merapi-Merbabu activity [8]. The density value of this
layer is 2.15 gr/cc and 0-500 m depth. The second layer
2
https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20197603003
is similar with the top layer. This layer has higher
density than the top layer, is about 2.4 gr/cc. the next
layer is interpreted as magma chamber of Mount Merapi
and Merbabu. Magma Chamber has density value about
2.6-2.75 gr/cc. there is difference between Merapi and
Merbabu volcanoes. Magma Chamber of Merbabu is
denser than Merapi. However, magma chamber of
Merapi is shallower than Mount. The fourth layer is
basement that has density value about 2.8 gr/cc in 5-8
km depth. the fifth layer has the highest density value,
about 3.0 gr/cc.
In addition to these five layers of rock, there is a
model of magma chamber in under Merbabu and Merapi
volcanoes. The magma chamber of Merbabu has a depth
of 4.5 km below the summit with a density of 2.75 gr/cc.
Beneath Merapi, there are 2 magma chambers, with the
upper magma chamber at a depth of 500 meters below
the summit, and bottom magma chamber at a depth of
3.2 km below peak. The density of the magma pouch
under Merapi is 2.70 gr/cc.
The density of the magma chamber beneath the Mt.
Merbabu is higher than magma chamber under Mount
Merapi. Both of these can be the answer the question
why Mt. Merbabu is more silent than the Mt. Merapi.
A
Mount
Mount Merapi
B
Fig. 3. Complete-Bouger Anomaly Map in study area, shows
that high anomaly located in Mount Merapi-Merbabu. The high
anomaly indicates high density in that area than the other rocks
around Mt.Merapi and Mt.Merbabu. Profile A-B was marked
by white line in the map.
E3S Web of Conferences 76, 03003 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20197603003
ICST 2018

Fig. 4. Modelling cross section along profile A-B in study area. The models shows that density of Mt. Merbabu’s magma chamber
higher than Mt. Merapi, while magma chamber of Mt. Merapi shallower than Mt. Merbabu.

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